Minutes

Approved minutes of the Uffington Parish Council meeting held remotely on Thursday 15th April 2021 at 7:30pm

Present by zoom: Cllr Brown – Chairman, Cllr Hutchins, Cllr Barratt, Cllr Woolf, Cllr Sheehan, Cllr Hartley, and three members of the public.

Clerk – Mrs. K Turner (Minutes)

Cllr Brown opened the meeting and welcomed everyone present. Cllr Brown sent condolences to the Royal family on the sad passing of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and a message of thanks and gratitude for his dedication and years in public service was posted on behalf of the whole of Uffington Parish in the official Royal book of condolence

Apologies: Cllr Kelham Cooke

Minutes of the previous meeting 11th March 2021

Comments/Amendments – LCC should be stated rather than SKDC for clerk to contact regarding Greatford footpath. Clerk amended

Minutes Agreed

Proposer: Cllr Sheehan, Second: Cllr Barratt

Matters arising

Footpath extension along Greatford Road – letter sent to LCC Highways manager. Await response

Needham Allen close Parking – Cllr Cooke advised that SKDC confirmed there is to be no parking on the green area in front of the residential properties. Letters have been written from SKDC advising of this. Question asked if residents are permitted to drive over the green to access properties which is unknown. Will await any response and monitor the parking situation. SKDC have confirmed the notice that was in place was a no ball games sign and that this will not be replaced

Cycle and footpath survey – Sustainable Stamford still require feedback from members of the public to obtain funding. Cllr Barret has agreed to be a contact for this and reminders have been placed on social media, in towers and spires newsletter and the parish notice board

Poor state of Casewick lane and flooding issues at Newstead corner have been raised by Cllr Brown & LCC have confirmed they will look into the flooding issues again. Cllr Brown noted that there is a River Gwash management group that has also been monitoring the issues

Speedwatch in the village is now operational. Cllr Woolf explained that two Lincs police officers attended one session and they were keen to support it which is positive news for the village They have agreed to look at the feedback and statistics collected from the sessions and will survey the findings. Cllr Woolf explained that Speedwatch does need more volunteers to help and support it so that with more resource more sessions can take place. Training can only be taken virtually at the moment with current restrictions so once there is more clear guidance on training available, notices and requests for help can be published

Offer of sandbags – Cllr Sheehan conducted a survey of residents on Manners close and Casewick lane that had previously suffered flooding over the Christmas period. 5 households expressed an interest in obtaining the sandbags offered by SKDC and have agreed to store the sand at their own premises. Queries were raised with this in relation to how this will be split and stored between the households and how the Parish reported back annually to SKDC in regards to usage and if the Parish were permitted to split the sand.

Action – Clerk to contact Emergency planning officer to clarify on points raised

Footpath No.10 was previously raised to the council regarding movement of the directional arrow sign. Cllr Brown to talk to footpath officer

The Playground and Hedgerow management group met with the contractor regarding the necessary maintenance work needed. As nesting season has begun no cutting or works can now commence until early September. The company will provide the logs to replace existing ones at playground when they are available. The new saplings are due to arrive in 1-2 weeks and the group were given advice not to plant now to ensure survival. These will need to be looked after and kept until they can be planted. Cllr Hutchins kindly agreed to take some to help with this. The ground can be cleared and prepared ready for planting.

Cllr Sheehan, Cllr Brown and Cllr Hartley have volunteered to do this and Cllr Genever has kindly agreed to supply compost for this area.

No interest has been put forward or received for a village neighborhood watch scheme

Bank Mandate – request of change of signatory to the Melton Mowbray building society account from previous clerk Mrs. L Thurston to newly appointed clerk Mrs. K Turner. New mandate forms will be signed by chairman and K Turner and sent accordingly

Agreed

Grass Cutting – C Harris will continue to mow the grass in the village areas as needed.

Agreed

New Playground Equipment – The playground group met and discussed the various new play equipment that could possibly acquired aimed at the age group of children 8-12 as it was noted there is plenty for the younger children already provided. Equipment to be thoughtfully planned regarding height and size. Wicksteed park have taken measurements and surveyed the area and will await their response and quotation. To possibly provide a picnic bench was also suggested

Action – Clerk to obtain quotes on picnic benches and seating

Hedge cuttings on Greatford Road – Two members of the public were given time to speak in the meeting regarding a grievance in relation to hedge cuttings that had been left on the grass verge along Greatford road opposite their home. Several attempts had been made to contact the landowner to request the removal but this was denied. Concerns were made due to the safety of walkers and horse riders as the verge was taken up by the debris. It was noted that a County Councillor had been made aware of the issue and reported to LCC highways. Discussion was made regarding whose responsibility it was to clear the cuttings which drew no conclusion and offers of help to remove and clear were made by the parish council. As LCC had been contacted the council agreed to wait on any further action until LCC had responded. The residents expressed their thanks to the council and noted that they wanted to bring the issue to the parish council to make it aware of the situation and confirmed that they would arrange to have it removed at their own cost. The Parish council noted this and were sympathetic to the resident’s complaint.

Trees in Bertie Lane -  Report made of the tree in Bertie Lane needed trimming and some maintenance.

Action – Clerk to organise inspection and possible works

Annual Parish Meeting – Noted that virtual meetings of councils legislation ends on 7th May 2021 and face to face meetings are to resume. Due to the uncertainty of being able to meet with current restrictions still at a maximum of 6 people Cllr’s agreed to hold both the Annual Parish meeting and the Annual Parish council meeting virtually by Zoom on 6th May 2021

Reports from Outside bodies  - Report received from district council circulated and attached

Accounts

Expenditure Out

Litter picking March                          £40.00

March Clerks wages x 2 (gross)      £348.04

       Zoom Invoices Dec – Feb 21           £43.17

       HMRC                                              £141.80

Total                                                         £573.01

Payments In

Allotments                                     £90.00

Bank balance as at 31st March 2021 (before deductions above)

Treasurer’s account:               £1,106.82

Business account:                   £5,577.53       

Accounts agreed - Proposer: Cllr Woolf  Second: Cllr Hutchins

Declarations of interest for planning.

Cllr Hartley – took no part in discussion

Cllr Genever (received by email, not present)

Planning

S21/0464  - Trees in CA - Section 211 Notice. Notice for consent to carry out work on trees as within the Conservation Area. Repollard to 4m and reduce spread of Lime. No objections/comments made

S21/0482 - To retain existing Mobile Classroom at Uffington school site for a further five years. No further comments made

S21/0501 - Conversion of 2 x redundant grain silos to form 2 x new holiday lets including 2 parking spaces and amenity space. No further comments made

S21/0673 - Erection of outbuilding to rear for home office space. 19 Casewick Lane, Uffington, PE9 4SX. Comment made regarding possible blockage of light through windows at no. 21 Casewick Lane . Was noted this would be for resident to raise any concern

No objections or further comments raised

Other business

Cllr Woolf discussed items from the allotment report and their findings from the recent working group meeting. Main points raised were that tenants still found the bonfire limitations a concern and it was noted that this will be reviewed when necessary. One tenant raised that there is a collection of rubbish and broken glass. The council were asked to consider hire of a skip for the use of the allotment holders to clear debris, tree stumps and inherited waste. PC was in agreement

Action – Clerk to obtain 3 quotes from hire companies and report back

Proposer: Cllr Hutchins Second: Cllr Sheehan

Cllr Brown discussed a code of conduct complaint had been received from SKDC. A reply was being drawn up to be sent but the PC expressed disappointment at the lack of response from the legal team at SKDC in relation to the complaint raised.

It was reported that the road sign as you leave Uffington village has suffered damage and this has been reported to fix my street

Report of uneven footpath from MOP along Casewick lane near postbox

Streetlight 123 has been broken for the past year and still not fixed despite numerous reports made

In recent events of anti-social behaviors at the playpark anyone who witnesses any sort of incident or behavior need to report to 101. Our PCSO has been made aware

MOP made report regarding the safety of children crossing main road.  The PC would like to receive a formal letter regarding this issue to take further

Repairs done to Lindsey road were very poorly done. Road has been left in a bad state of repair and debris has been left on both the pavement and road despite a road sweeper the next day. More works are planned between April 20th-23rd

Meeting closed at 8.55pm. Next meeting: Thursday 6th May@ 7:00pm by zoom unless guidance changes.